FAMSI © 2008: Travis Doering and Lori Collins
The Kaminaljuyú Sculpture Project: An Expandable
Three-Dimensional Database
Research Year: 2007
Culture: Maya
Chronology: Late Pre-Classic, Early Classic
Location: Guatemala
Site: Kaminaljuyú
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Significance of the Site of Kaminaljuyú
The Beginning
An Economic, Linguistic, and Social Interface
The Kaminaljuyú Sculptural Corpus
Three-Dimensional Laser Scanning and Mesoamerican Sculpture
The Kaminaljuyú Sculpture Project: Data Collection and Processing
The Mesoamerican Three-Dimensional Imaging Project
Closing Comments
List of Figures
Sources Cited
Submitted 02/14/2008 by:
Travis Doering, Ph.D.
Lori Collins, Ph.D.
University of South Florida, Tampa
[email protected]
[email protected]
1
"Every later Mesoamerican society developed within a framework
that was laid in the Pre-Classic. The material features that we see
archaeologically as typical of Mesoamerica took their essential form
during this period." (Joyce and Grove 1999:2)
Introduction
Recent epigraphic and iconographic work in Mesoamerica (e.g., Guernsey 2006;
Houston 2004; Rodríguez-Martínez et al. 2006; Saturno et al. 2006) lends further
support to the statement made by Joyce and Grove above. These and other
investigations demonstrate that the Formative period (c. 1250 BCE to 250 CE)
was a pivotal time in the evolution from symbolic or iconographic depictions to
writing systems as well as in the materialization of the Mesoamerican calendrical
system (Rice 2007). To better analyze and determine the sequence of stages in
these changes, it is advantageous to have a substantial body of comparative
material with which to work. Furthermore, the assemblage of material should
span the chronological period that is inclusive of the actions deemed significant
in the maturation of these systems. For these and other reasons that are
discussed below, the corpus of stone and ceramic sculpture from the site of
Kaminaljuyú has been selected for documentation.
The purpose of the Kaminaljuyú Sculpture Project, which was wholly sponsored
by the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerica Studies, Inc., (FAMSI),
is to provide a foundation for an expandable three-dimensional database of
sculpted ceramic and stone monuments from the Formative and Classic period
site of Kaminaljuyú in present-day Guatemala City. The three-dimensional
images in this database allow Mesoamerican scholars, iconographers,
epigraphers, or other interested parties to study the sculptures at a level of detail
and in a virtual reality not previously possible. The complete data sets for each
piece permit the researcher to examine the artifact on their office, lab, or home
computer as thoroughly and meticulously as if the object were physically present.
Besides being viewable in three-dimensions, the images are manipulable a full
360º, they can be enlarged for closer scrutiny, the light source can be
maneuvered to any angle to bring out or enhance desired detail, and extremely
accurate on-screen measurements can be made anywhere on the object. This
database allows researchers anywhere in the world to conduct visual analysis
and investigation without having to visit the actual artifact.
The objectives of this project were multifaceted. We wanted to remove several of
the obstacles that had previously hindered a systematic, coordinated, and broadbased study of Kaminaljuyú’s stone sculpture. Kaplan (1995b:1) has identified
the critical research problem relative to the monuments at Kaminaljuyú, the
“sculptures and sculptural fragments in the ancient city’s monumental corpus
have not been studied with the aim of integrating iconography, ideology, and
history.” The causes of this problem are three-fold. First, the corpus is disunited
2
and dispersed. Second, only a few of the pieces that are known have been
documented sufficiently for critical iconographic and epigraphic analysis. The
third problem is a result of the first two, the availability of the pieces for study and
research has been severely restricted. The three-dimensional database of
Kaminaljuyú sculpture alleviates these obstacles.
The dispersed sculpted pieces were first located and then permissions acquired
to document them at the site and in various museums, storage facilities, parks,
and national and international private collections where they were found. The
majority of pieces identified as originating from Kaminaljuyú were at the three
major museums in Guatemala City: the Popol Vuh, Miraflores, and the
Guatemala National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The National
Museum had more than 100 documented carved pieces from the site, some of
which were on display while others were located in various parts of the bodega
and other off-display storage areas.
Kaplan (1995b:1) also called attention to the difficulty in accessing the data that
had been collected. We wanted these new data to be available in a format that
could be readily used by researchers and that images could be freely obtained by
those with an interest in the sculptures. Another consideration was the ability to
compare the corpus of work from Kaminaljuyú to a growing body of
contemporaneous sculpture from other Mesoamerican Formative period sites
(e.g., La Venta, Izapa, or Takalik Abaj). This element of comparability along with
the ability to add new materials meant that the database had to be expandable.
This feature would allow the addition of data collected by other investigators and
as more sculptures came to light or became available they could be added to the
corpus. Finally, we were concerned with the long-term preservation of the data.
The method of storage and format was designed to allow these data to be used,
augmented, and improved as new technologies are developed in the future. With
support from and collaboration with FAMSI, we believe that these project
objectives have been achieved.
The Significance of the Site of Kaminaljuyú
Kaminaljuyú was selected for this initial project for several reasons. The sculpted
material from the site is a primary nexus in the transformative process from
conceptual communication to its physical demonstration. Admittedly, these
processes of materialization occurred in other locations and times throughout
Mesoamerica (e.g., San Lorenzo, La Venta, the Valley of Oaxaca, Izapa, Ulua
River Valley, Chalchuapa, and Abaj Takalik). As we will demonstrate, however,
Kaminaljuyú offers a more inclusive socioeconomic composition and broader
spatial scope then most other sites.
Another factor in the decision was the longevity of Kaminaljuyú’s occupation,
which spans the Early Formative period (c. 1200 BCE) through the Classic period
(c. 900 CE). This is precisely the time when the archaeological record indicates
3
the incipient materialization in stone of symbols and icons occurred across
Mesoamerica (Flannery 1968; Miller 1996; Pool 2007). This phase was followed
by the appearance of emergent writing systems and their subsequent
florescence (Guernsey 2006; Parsons 1988). Covering some five square
kilometers, Kaminaljuyú was the largest settlement in the Guatemala Highlands
during this dynamic period (Hatch 2001:387), and it was also the site of the
region’s most powerful chiefdom (Demarest 2004; Michels 1979).
To some, the relationship of the settlement’s inhabitants with those of the major
central Mexican city of Teotihuacán in the Early Classic period is of primary
importance (Rice 2007:129). Nevertheless, multiple and earlier sociopolitical
transitions occurred among and between elites across Mesoamerica during the
Formative period. While the Teotihuacán connection is significant, Kaminaljuyú’s
relationships with numerous other contemporaneous regional sociopolitical
centers may be more important to understanding the occupants’ iconographic
actualizing of their ideology.
The Beginning
The initial documented occupation of Kaminaljuyú began in the Arévalo phase (c.
1200-1000 BCE). This sedentary presence is based upon ceramic evidence,
which, “seem to have no antecedents in the valley, nor any close relationships to
those of Las Charcas” (Hatch 2001:388), the subsequent temporal phase (c.
1000-700 BCE). The timing of this occupation is interesting in that obsidian from
nearby El Chayal begins, for the first time, to appear at sites distant from
Kaminaljuyú and the Guatemala Highlands (Clark and Lee 1984; Hoopes 1993;
Sheets 1975).
It is possible that early societal occupation and development at Kaminaljuyú was
instigated by the desire for formal organizational control of the exportation of this
major raw material. Some of the most notable Early Formative period
appearances of El Chayal obsidian were in Southern Gulf lowland sites. The
early rise of Kaminaljuyú may have been, in part, stimulated by contact with the
major Olmec site of San Lorenzo (c. 1250-900 BCE). The source of some of the
earliest obsidian material including prismatic blades recovered at San Lorenzo
was El Chayal (Cobean et al. 1971; Cobean et al. 1991; Coe and Diehl 1980). As
well, at El Macayal, a contemporaneous settlement approximately 12 km east of
San Lorenzo (Ortíz and Rodríguez 1990; Ortíz et al. 1988; Ortíz et al. 1989), El
Chayal obsidian was also present (Doering n.d.). This hypothesis is strengthened
by the continually emerging evidence of San Lorenzo’s presence along the
Soconusco Coast, nearby to Kaminaljuyú (Cheetham 2005; Clark and Hodgson
2004; Clark and Pye 2000; Lesure 2004; Pool 2007; Rosenswig 2006, 2007).
As Hatch (2001:388) pointed out, the succeeding Las Charcas phase (c. 1000700 BCE) at Kaminaljuyú shows little relationship to its predecessor. Again, the
timing corresponds to major events occurring on the Southern Gulf Coast,
4
primarily the decline of San Lorenzo and the rise of La Venta and the substantial
differences in their material record (see Clark 2005). Also, coeval changes
occurred on the Soconusco Coast (i.e., the decline of centers in the Mazatan
region, significant regional population movements, and the rise of La Blanca)
(Love 2002; Rosenswig 2000, 2006). These types of socioeconomic changes
may be reflected at Kaminaljuyú in the seeming lack of ceramic continuity
between its first and second phase.
An Economic, Linguistic, and Social Interface
Early long distance contacts appear to signal Kaminaljuyú’s role as a center in a
growing socioeconomic interaction sphere that literally spanned the entire
eastern half of Mesoamerica. Contacts were eventually established with La
Venta, Tres Zapotes, Chiapa de Corzo, Teotihuacán, Izapa, Chalchuapa, and in
the Maya Lowlands. To understand the reasons that Kaminaljuyú enjoyed its
position as a key point of socioeconomic interaction between such diverse and
distant centers, one needs to examine its physical geography and geology.
The settlement is located in the western portion of the Valley of Guatemala, a
broad relatively flat intermontane plateau. The valley is in the Southern Sierra
Madre Mountains, a volcanic range of the Antillean Chain. The well-watered
plateau is actually “a transverse north-south graben or rift structure. As such, it
represents the only major pass connecting the Pacific coastal plain and the
Motagua Valley” (Michels 1979:39). Thus, the site’s propitious position was on
the only significant natural pass that connected the Pacific Coast to the northern
interior of Guatemala and the Caribbean. Routes along the Pacific Coast
extended from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the west (Zeitlin 1982) to El
Salvador in the east (Sharer 1978) and possibly to Costa Rica in the southeast
(Graham 1998; Jones 1998; Taube 2004).
Add to this geographic advantage the close proximity of two major obsidian
sources, El Chayal and San Martín Jilotepeque; direct access to the Motagua
River Valley, location of the only documented Mesoamerican jade source (Seitz
et al. 2001); and an active expansive acquisition and redistribution system that
also included salt, cacao, fruits, and ceramics (Hatch 1997; Parsons 1986;
Sanders 1969; Stanislawski 1996). Thus, Kaminaljuyú was at the center of an
extensive socioeconomic interaction sphere of exchange and acquisition that
extended to the Caribbean Coast, Honduras, El Salvador, Teotihuacán, Chiapas,
the Maya Lowlands (El Petén), the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the Southern
Gulf Coast. Another minor, but possibly warranted, consideration is the constant
temperate climate that makes the Valley a welcome location at any time of the
year (Hatch et al. 2002). This condition may have been an inviting respite to
agents from the sweltering coasts and tropical regions, frigid elevations, or arid
plains and dry savannahs.
5
The Valley was also a key point of interaction among a remarkable variety of
linguistic groups. Mora-Marín (2001) has determined that Kaminaljuyú was an
interface between Mixe-Zoquean and Mayan linguistic traditions. Rice (2007:129)
states that there was an amalgamation of emerging regional proto-linguistic
traditions that included “Mixean, Xincan, Lencan, Zoquean, Ch’olan-Tzeltalan,
and Poqom.” The valley was considered a “cosmopolitan meeting ground for
various ethnolinguistic groups, presumably with competing politico-economic
goals, interethnic or factional rivalries” (Rice 2007:138). If this presumption is
true, Kaminaljuyú may have been a type site for Polyani’s (1963) port of trade, a
neutral locality where agents of disparate polities could assemble and safely
conduct mercantile transactions. At Kaminaljuyú, however, the interaction may
have extended beyond purely economic contact to include ideological and social
aspects.
Based on the varied linguistic-cultural groups and the diversity of products and
materials associated with Kaminaljuyú, there was a convergence and
transmission of mutual and dynamic ideas and technologies from widespread
regions of Mesoamerica. The site’s occupants acted as conduits for the
communication of sociopolitical, ideological, and technological activities that were
occurring throughout southeastern Mesoamerica. For these reasons,
Kaminaljuyú’s sculptural corpus is a record that involves multiple cultural groups
who shared a common creation myth, cosmology, and political structure
(Coggins 1996:33) and, therefore, is an invaluable assemblage to anyone
investigating the emergence and development of ancient pan-Mesoamerican
communication systems.
The Kaminaljuyú Sculptural Corpus
Multiple sociopolitical transitions occurred among and between discrete societies
across Mesoamerica during the Formative period. It appears that there existed,
“a dynamic, multiethnic interaction sphere that included not only the
dissemination of tangible goods, but the communication of symbolic ideas as
well” (Guernsey 2006:6). Many of the changes that occurred in the evolving
political and economic landscape of the Mesoamerican Formative period were
expressed and preserved in an active sculptural record (see Clark 2005; Parsons
1986). Visual vocabularies emanated from these sites, images carved in stone
that exemplified the diversity and transmutation in the form and display of power
and authority.
Kaminaljuyú was a nexus in this evolving sociopolitical landscape and was a
preeminent repository for early pan-Mesoamerican sculptural canons and
conventions. Therefore, the significance and primacy of the sculptural corpus at
Kaminaljuyú for the study of the evolution of Mesoamerican inscriptions lies in
the fact that various symbolic conventions, emblematic of distant and diverse
centers, were present at the site (Hatch 1997; Parsons 1986). As Guernsey
(2006:6) notes, these presentations were not unsophisticated efforts but were,
6
instead, part of a well-devised program that the later Classic period elite in
Mesoamerica would imitate.
More so than other sites, the Kaminaljuyú sculptures demonstrate a more
eclectic assemblage that suggests a more broadly shared style (Rice 2007:138).
Notable similarities been Kaminaljuyú carved monuments and those of other
contemporaneous sites have been noted. For example, Guernsey-Kappleman
(2002:77-80) discusses the relationships between Kaminaljuyú Stelae 4, 10, 11,
and 19 and stone sculptures from Izapa. Rice (2007:137) states that, “the
similarities and continuities between Olmec, Epi-Olmec, Izapan, Kaminaljuyú,
and lowland Maya styles of art and epigraphy cannot be denied.” She goes on to
add that, “they clearly indicate both distinct ethno-linguistico-epigraphic traditions
and considerable interaction–social, economic, and linguistic–[occurred] over a
wide area in the Late and Terminal Preclassic periods.”
Guernsey (2006:5) maintains that carved stone monuments and their collective
cache of incised symbols, “must be understood as protagonists–albeit stone
ones–that structured sacred space and delivered powerful messages to a diverse
Late Preclassic audience.” Cyphers (1993:156-158) stresses that interpretation
and meaning of symbolic accounts cannot be conceived of in isolation. She
contends that, to be effectively considered, the evidence must be placed within
an “archaeological and sociological” context. “Ideally, a context implies not only
the single object, but those objects found together with it, including constructed
architecture and/or modified landscapes, immediate or more remote” (Cyphers
1993:158). In turn, the specific contexts must be situated within a setting broad
enough to define the circumstances that, “reminds occupants of the appropriate
rules and hence of the ongoing behaviors appropriate to the situation” (Rapoport
1990:12). Thus, the context of the site of Kaminaljuyú must be understood, and
the conceptual constructions evaluated, relative to the setting of Formative period
Southeastern Mesoamerica. As an example, the simple presence of monumental
stone, carved or uncarved, at Kaminaljuyú requires investigators to consider the
social interactions, organizational and rulership structure, as well as the
technologies necessary to transport, erect, and carve these memorials. For best
results, these new data generated by this project should be integrated with other
multidisciplinary data and documentation that has been assembled over the past
century (including but not limited to Gamio 1926 ; Hatch 1997; Houston et al.
2005; Houston et al. 2003 ; Kaplan 1995a; Kidder et al. 1946; Michaels 1979;
Monterroso and Galindo 2004 ; Ohi 1994; Parsons 1988; Parsons 1986; Sanders
and Michaels 1977; Shook and Smith 1942 ; Valdés and Wright 2004; White et
al. 2000).
There are other considerations that should be made when examining the
dynamic but still poorly understood Late Formative period and its sculptural
record at Kaminaljuyú. Like many stone artifacts from Mesoamerica, the
monumental carvings have been subjected to millennium of natural and
anthropogenic factors that have negatively impacted many of the pieces. Some
7
pieces from Kaminaljuyú, prior to being in museum and private collections, have
suffered from weathering, while others have been intentionally defaced or
broken, both in ancient and modern times. Results of these conditions have, in
some cases, limited their archaeological visibility. Post-processing techniques
applied to three-dimensional laser scan data can often extract greater detail than
other methods of recordation to assist in the interpretation of the sculptural
record, and to tease out details that can be imperceptible to the human eye.
Three-Dimensional Laser Scanning and Mesoamerican Sculpture
Three-dimensional laser scanning is a non-contact, non-intrusive, and nondestructive method for the highly accurate documentation of Mesoamerican
stone and sculpted artifacts. The technique is a new tool that can be used by
archaeological researchers in conjunction with other documentation techniques
to produce the most complete and accurate data for their investigations. High
definition, close range scanning significantly reduces the subjectivity associated
with more conventional sculpture recording processes. At the same time,
however, it can be combined with previous documentation methods to produce a
more accurate and objective record. Processed scan data sets can be used to
generate an exceptional archival record for research, restoration, reconstruction,
replication, and monitoring of deterioration (Collins and Doering 2006; Price
1996: 30).
In a report from the Getty Conservation Institute regarding stone monuments,
Price (1996:30) states that, “[d]rawing and photography still have a place in
recording, but attention is turning increasingly to techniques of three-dimensional
recording.” He cites the fact that laser scanning does not require any physical
contact with the object while offering optimal results in almost every instance as
justification for the use of three-dimensional techniques. Furthermore, the
observation of minute detail afforded by three-dimensional scanning is superior
to stereophotography and photogrammetry, methods that portray only an illusion
of depth from a single perspective and does not provide a quantitative record.
Tracing, rubbing, molding, and casting are not feasible on fragile, damaged, or
deteriorated surfaces. Thus, laser scanning is an appropriate method for the
majority of applications.
In this current project, we used a Konica-Minolta VIVID 9i Laser Digitizer, a
close-range scanner that excels at high-precision three-dimensional
measurement that, when combined with three dimensional software, is capable
of rapid processing that facilitates the straightforward merging and editing of
large amounts of measurement data. The choice of the VIVID 9i was also due to
its proven ability to produce excellent results in a variety of locales (e.g., labs,
bodegas, museums, and archaeological sites) and under a range of physical and
climatic conditions. Equipment, computer hardware and software, and expertise
were provided by the Alliance for Integrated Spatial Technologies in the Office of
Research and Scholarship at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
8
Data generated by close-range three-dimensional scanning have proven to be
exceptionally advantageous for the documentation, visualization, and analysis of
sculpted objects (Doering and Collins n.d.; Doering et al. 2006). The VIVID 9i
scanner operates on the principle of triangulation or sine law (Boehler and Marbs
2002; Boehler et al. 2003), and surface images are captured at an accuracy level
approaching .05 mm (Konica-Minolta 2007), approximately the diameter of a
human hair. The visualization of the object is further enhanced by three
dimensional software techniques that provide the viewer the ability to change the
angle of light and shadow across the surface. Each piece can be freely
maneuvered 360º to obtain optimal detail and perspective, and disarticulated
pieces can be virtually reassembled. Dimensional and volumetric measurements
can be produced as well. Thus, computerized visualization of the resultant data
permits researchers to study sculpted objects in a virtual reality and at a level of
detail and accessibility not previously possible.
The Kaminaljuyú Sculpture Project: Data Collection and Processing
The best extant presentation of a collection of Kaminaljuyú sculpture was
conducted by Parsons over 20 years ago (Parsons 1986), but it was not
designed for intimate study and analysis. Since then, new pieces have been
located and advancing technologies have recently been developed that permit
the collection and dissemination of highly accurate and detailed visualizations of
the objects (Collins and Doering 2006). We have decided to use the descriptive
nomenclature put forward by Parsons (1986). Although these 20-year-old terms
may not be as accurate as may be desired, we have decided to follow Parson’s
lead instead of trying to rewrite and redefine each term. Therefore, monumental
stone artifacts recorded in the current project were classified as monuments,
stelae, altars, silhouetted reliefs, and pedestal sculptures. Each piece is identified
according to the museum accession number, if known, and the FAMSI
Mesoamerican Three-Dimensional Imaging Project number (M3D), which is
discussed in the following section. Also, please note that the gray-scale figures
produced for this report are two-dimensional images of three-dimensional data.
Significantly better clarity and detail can be observed in the true threedimensional realm that allows the viewer to move, manipulate, and highlight the
object as desired.
A total of 141 Mesoamerican artifacts were scanned and documented during the
project’s June and July, 2007 field season. Of these, 118 pieces were stone or
ceramic sculptures from the site of Kaminaljuyú. The three-dimensional scanning
of Kaminaljuyú sculpture commenced at the Francisco Marroquín University’s
Popol Vuh Museum in Guatemala City. Here, eight iconographic stone sculptures
were scanned with the cooperation and assistance of Dr. Oswaldo Chinchilla, the
museum’s curator, and his staff. These pieces included the often illustrated
grotesque mask (Museum #0322-Popol Vuh, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0024
(Figure 1); a carved and incised stone frog (Museum #0601-Popol Vuh, FAMSI
Imaging Project # M3D0023); a small potbellied sculpture designated Monument
9
57 (Museum #0584-Popol Vuh, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0019) (Figure 2);
two silhouetted relief carvings (Museum #0330-Popol Vuh and #0326-Popol Vuh,
FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0020 and M3D0021); an altar fragment from the
four-legged Altar 14 (Museum #0332-Popol Vuh, FAMSI Imaging Project #
M3D0022) (Figure 3); an ovoid stone disc with carving (Museum #1.1.2.2712Popol Vuh, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0016); and a stela fragment (Stela 28)
(Museum #Unknown-Popol Vuh, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0017).
Figure 1. Screen capture of scan image of Grotesque mask from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the Popol Vuh Museum in Guatemala City.
10
Figure 2. Front and reverse side view screen captures of Monument 57
from Kaminaljuyú, curated at the Popol Vuh Museum in Guatemala City.
Next, documentation of four stone and three ceramic objects from Kaminaljuyú
was conducted at the Miraflores Museum. Here, the authors worked under the
direction of Dr. Juan Antonio Valdés. The stone sculpture included a four-faced
carved pedestal sculpture (Museum #Unknown-Miraflores, FAMSI Imaging
Project #not yet assigned); a zoomorphic toad sculpture (Museum # UnknownMiraflores, FAMSI Imaging Project # not yet assigned; Altar 1 (Museum #2072Miraflores, FAMSI Imaging Project # not yet assigned) (Figure 4); and the Stela
21 fragment (Museum #8135, FAMSI Imaging Project # not yet assigned) (Figure
5).
11
Figure 3. Screen capture views of scan images of Altar 14 fragment from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the Popol Vuh Museum in Guatemala City.
Figure 4. Screen capture of scan image of Altar 1 from Kaminaljuyú,
curated at the Miraflores Museum in Guatemala City.
12
Figure 5. Screen capture of scan image of Stela 21 from Kaminaljuyú,
curated at the Miraflores Museum in Guatemala City.
In Antigua, Guatemala pieces were documented and scanned at the VIGUA
Museum of Pre-Columbian Art and Modern Glass, a private collection of VICAL,
Central American Glass Company with permission and assistance from Susana
Campins, director of the museum. Pieces were also documented at the private
MAYAP Collection in the Archaeology Museum in the Paseo de los Museos,
Casa Santo Domingo with the permission of the director Ana Claudia de
Suasnavar and the assistance of Tessa de Alarcón. Some of the these pieces
included carved objects from sites other than Kaminaljuyú, but with similar
temporal range and iconographic elements, such as the low-relief “Shook Panel”
(Museum #Unknown-Casa Santo Domingo, FAMSI Imaging Project # not yet
assigned) (Figure 6).
13
Figure 6. Screen capture of scan image of Stela 21 from Kaminaljuyú,
curated at the private MAYAP Collection in the Archaeology Museum
in the Paseo de los Museos, Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua.
The remainder of the project focused on the Kaminaljuyú pieces curated at the
National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City. Here, a total
of 100 sculptures were recorded under the direction of Curator Claudia Monzón
Sosa de Jiménez, whose graciousness and patience was greatly appreciated.
We also received critical assistance from Rodolfo Yakian, Director of Artifacts at
the National Museum, who helped us locate pieces from Kaminaljuyú. Three
weeks were spent at the museum scanning objects from Kaminaljuyú that were
on exhibit, in the bodega, and in special storage areas. James “Bart” McLeod
and William Klinger, graduate students from the University of South Florida,
assisted the authors in all phases of the project.
An example of a Kaminaljuyú altar from the National Museum is illustrated in
Figure 7 (Museum # M-3092-A, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0044); a
silhouetted relief in Figure 8 (Museum # MNAE 3232, FAMSI Imaging Project #
M3D0088); fragments of multiple classifications in Figure 9 (Museum #MN1923,
FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0102) and a stela (Stela 8) in Figure 10 (Museum
#Unknown, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D 0044). Kaminaljuyú Monument 65 is
shown in Figure 11 (Museum #MN-Unknown, FAMSI Imaging Project #
M3D004), a pedestal sculpture in Figure 12 (Museum # MNAE 3094, FAMSI
Imaging Project # M3D069) and an anthropomorphic ceramic vessel is depicted
in Museum # MNAE 7512, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D 0066 (not shown).
14
Figure 7. Screen capture of scan image of Altar 2, MN#2043, from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National Museum of Archaeology
and Ethnology in Guatemala City.
Figure 8. Screen capture of scan image of Silhouette Relief 1, MN#2235,
from Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National Museum of Archaeology
and Ethnology in Guatemala City.
15
As opportunity presented itself during our field season, we used laser scanning
and digital photography to document artifacts and sculptures from other
Formative period sites and when access was made available to these types of
pieces in private collections. We also received requests from international
researchers to scan other Formative and Classic period incised and sculpted
objects that were considered significant to iconographic and epigraphic research.
These pieces included Naranjo Altar 1 (Museum #Unknown-Popol Vuh, FAMSI
Imaging Project # M3D0029) and four ceramic vessels curated at the Popol Vuh
Museum; a monument from the Petén site of El Mirador (Museum #MNAE
14118-IDM1, FAMSI Imaging Project # M3D0068); a panel from Piedras Negras
(Museum #PN Lintel 12-National Museum, FAMSI Imaging Project # not yet
assigned), and several sculpted ceramic vessels in the National Museum. Also, a
ceramic vessel from the MAYAP Collection in the Casa Santo Domingo and
three stone masks, a ceramic carved vessel, and the “Shook panel” from the
VICAL private collection were recorded. Additionally, the authors supported
researchers in the Guatemala by performing scans on items of iconographic
significance including Stela 27 from El Naranjo, in the Valley of Guatemala, for
Dr. Barbara Arroyo and an Olmec stone figurine and ceramic vessel from the site
of El Peru-Waka for Dr. David Freidel.
16
Figure 9. Screen captures of scan image of the front and reverse side of
fragment from Kaminaljuyú, Museum #MN1923, FAMSI Imaging Project
#M3D0102, curated at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
in Guatemala City. This fragment is from a table altar not discussed in
Parsons (1986), but shown in (Kaplan 1995a:188). It is approximately 27 x
30 cm, with a 5 cm wide beveled edge. It once had legs as shown by the
cavities measuring 12 x 12 cm on its basal portion.
17
Figure 10. Screen capture of scan image of the abraded Stela 8,
MN#2052, from Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National Museum
of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City.
18
Figure 11. Screen capture of scan image of Monument 65, from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National Museum of Archaeology
and Ethnology in Guatemala City.
19
Figure 12. Screen capture of scan images of the front and reverse sides of
Pedestal Monument 4, MN#2053, from Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City.
Our project workflow consisted of high-resolution digital photography using a
Nikon D200, to photo document each piece prior to scanning from a variety of
angles. Next, objects were scanned using the Konica-Minolta 9i and GeoMagic
Studio 9 three-dimensional software with the Minolta plug-in tool. A typical
scanning setup included an adjustable Manfrotto 3258 tripod, and depending on
the size and configuration of the object being scanned, we may have also utilized
a Minolta rotary-stage turntable.
In the field, registration of all data was conducted as scans were completed to
ensure proper coverage and detail capture. These data were immediately
backed-up to an external hard drive on site. Later, off-site post-processing of the
registered data from each day’s scanning activities were checked, merged into
three-dimensional models using GeoMagic Studio© software, and backed-up to
another external hard drive. This procedure ensured that each piece documented
was satisfactorily completed and significantly reduced the amount of standard
post-processing required after project completion.
20
Processing and testing continued with a variety of software enhancements and
analysis tools, such as Adobe Photoshop©, Intuos3© drawing tablet, Corel Draw©,
and GeoMagic Studio 9© at the computer lab of the Alliance for Integrated Spatial
technologies at the University of South Florida. Each day during field collection,
all raw and processed data from the project were backed-up and stored on
external hard drives as well as the internal drive on the laptop processor.
Additionally, all raw and processed data are stored on University of South Florida
computer network drive with back up capacity. Additional innovative processing
techniques have substantially improved the visibility and delineation of indistinct
and previously indistinguishable detail, and efforts to further improve data
extraction and increase visualization are ongoing.
The Mesoamerican Three-Dimensional Imaging Project
In 2006, the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.,
(FAMSI) and the University of South Florida's Alliance for Integrated Spatial
Technologies began a collaborative effort entitled the Mesoamerican ThreeDimensional Imaging Project. The result is a freely accessible resource
database
housed
on
the
FAMSI
website
(http://research.famsi.org/3D_imaging/index.php.). The project is a continuing
effort that makes high definition, three-dimensional laser scans of Mesoamerican
objects viewable to researchers online. The objects documented by the
Kaminaljuyú Sculpture Project are being made available on the web site. To
analyze scanned objects in full three-dimensional detail, Geomagic© Review 9.0,
a 3D data viewer software program is available on www.geomagic.com. The
Geomagic© Review program will allow manipulation of viewing angles, rotation of
the object, and changing the intensity and direction of the grazing light across
scanned pieces to provide optimal viewing of detail. The program has a complete
tutorial available as a help file that details these procedures. Sample data sets
are available on the FAMSI Imaging Project website, and complete data sets of
individual artifacts can be requested by researchers.
On the Mesoamerican Three-Dimensional Imaging Project web pages each
documented piece has been assigned a unique database identification number,
and is also referenced in terms of existing museum accession numbers or other
designated nomenclature such as Parsons (1986). The present location of the
item is noted along with other available information such as bibliographic
citations of published data relevant to the object (e.g., journal articles, books,
chapters, conference proceedings). When possible, photographs, line drawings,
rubbings, or other types of images from historical documentation are provided,
along with new documentation including photographs and static screen captures
of three dimensional models. Chronological, contextual, and other supportable
information pertinent to the artifact’s interpretation and discovery are also
provided.
21
The database is intended to accommodate continued use and development. It is
hoped that as epigraphers, iconographers, and other scholars use these scan
data sets to improve depictions and line drawings they will contribute to the
informational package. As computer and other analytical techniques progress
and enhanced visualizations become available they too will be added to the site.
As previously stated, the Mesoamerican Three-Dimensional Imaging Project is
designed to be a living document. On-going and future recordation of other
Mesoamerican artifacts, features, architecture, sites, and landscapes are being
conducted by the authors, and will be made available to the research community.
We would like to encourage other researchers using these and other forms of
documentation and visualization in their work to contact us about adding and
enhancing the web portal.
Closing Comments
Results from the application of close-range laser scanning to the Mesoamerican
sculptural corpus have demonstrated the effectiveness of this technique. In some
cases, previously indistinguishable features can now be perceived, and the life
history of the stone (e.g., tool marks, abrading, re-use, recycling, and other
production techniques) can be identified. The visualization of the object in threedimensions allows the sculpted piece to be observed as the original artist meant
it to be viewed.
Three-dimensional laser scanning is a new tool that offers significant potential for
interpretation and insight into Mesoamerica’s past. Nevertheless, it will take
considerable time, effort, and dedication to realize the full capabilities of this
technique. Therefore, we encourage cooperative efforts to begin routinely using
these data and incorporating them into research designs. We are interested in
opportunities to work collaboratively with archaeologists, epigraphers,
iconographers, and researchers to develop and maximize the implementation of
these exceedingly robust and metrologically accurate data sets. The future
development of the FAMSI Mesoamerican Three-Dimensional Imaging Project is
designed to be inclusive of multiple partners using these types of data to
conserve, preserve, document, and analyze Mesoamerican sculpture.
List of Figures
Figure 1. Screen capture of scan image of Grotesque mask from Kaminaljuyú,
curated at the Popol Vuh Museum in Guatemala City.
Figure 2. Front and reverse side view screen captures of Monument 57 from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the Popol Vuh Museum in Guatemala City.
Figure 3. Screen capture views of scan images of Altar 14 fragment from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the Popol Vuh Museum in Guatemala City.
22
Figure 4. Screen capture of scan image of Altar 1 from Kaminaljuyú, curated at
the Miraflores Museum in Guatemala City.
Figure 5. Screen capture of scan image of Stela 21 from Kaminaljuyú, curated at
the Miraflores Museum in Guatemala City.
Figure 6. Screen capture of scan image of Stela 21 from Kaminaljuyú, curated at
the private MAYAP Collection in the Archaeology Museum in the Paseo de los
Museos, Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua.
Figure 7. Screen capture of scan image of Altar 2, MN#2043, from Kaminaljuyú,
curated at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala
City.
Figure 8. Screen capture of scan image of Silhouette Relief 1, MN#2235, from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in
Guatemala City.
Figure 9. Screen captures of scan image of the front and reverse side of
fragment from Kaminaljuyú, Museum #MN1923, FAMSI Imaging Project
#M3D0102, curated at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in
Guatemala City. This fragment is from a table altar not discussed in Parsons
(1986), but shown in (Kaplan 1995a:188). It is approximately 27 x 30 cm, with a 5
cm wide beveled edge. It once had legs as shown by the cavities measuring 12 x
12 cm on its basal portion.
Figure 10. Screen capture of scan image of the abraded Stela 8, MN#2052, from
Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in
Guatemala City.
Figure 11. Screen capture of scan image of Monument 65, from Kaminaljuyú,
curated at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala
City.
Figure 12. Screen capture of scan images of the front and reverse sides of
Pedestal Monument 4, MN#2053, from Kaminaljuyú, curated at the National
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City.
23
Sources Cited
Boehler, Wolfgang and Andreas Marbs
2002
3D Scanning Instruments Paper presented at the CIPA, Heritage
Documentation - International Workshop on Scanning for Cultural
Heritage Recording, Corfu, Greece.
Boehler, Wolfgang, M. Bordas Vicent and Andreas Marbs
2003
Investigating Laser Scanner Accuracy. In The XIXth CIPA Symposium,
Antalya, Turkey.
Cheetham, David
2005
Recent Investigation at Cantón Corralito: A Possible Olmec Enclave on
the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, México. Arizona State University and the
New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham Young University.
Clark, J. E. and T. A. Lee
1984
Formative Obsidian Exchange and the Emergence of Public Economies
in Chiapas, México. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica,
edited by Hirth, pp. 235-274. University of New Mexico Press,
Albuquerque.
Clark, John E.
2005
The Birth of Mesoamerican Metaphysics: Sedentism, Engagement, and
Moral Superiority. In Rethinking Materiality: The Engagement of Mind
with the Material World, edited by DeMarrais, Gosden and Renfrew, pp.
205-224. McDonald Institute Monograph Series. McDonald Institute
Cambridge.
Clark, John E. and John G. Hodgson
2004
A Millennium of Wonders in Coastal Mesoamerica. In The Annual
Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, Atlanta, Georgia.
Clark, John E. and Mary E. Pye
2000
The Pacific Coast and the Olmec Question. In Olmec Art and
Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by Clark and Pye, pp. 217-252.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Cobean, R. H., M. D. Coe, J. Edward, A. Perry, K. K. Turekian and D. P. Kharkar
1971
Obsidian Trade at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, México. Science 174:666671.
Cobean, R. H., J. R. Vogt, M. D. Glascock and T. R. Stocker
1991
High Precision Trace Element Characterization of Major Mesoamerican
Obsidian Sources and Further Analysis of Artifacts from San Lorenzo
Tenochtitlán, México. Latin American Antiquity 2(1):69-91.
24
Coe, Michael D. and Richard A. Diehl
1980
In the Land of the Olmec: The Archaeology of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán
1. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Coggins, Clemency C.
1996
Creation Religion and the Numbers at Teotihuacán and Izapa. Res,
Anthropology and Aesthetics 29-30:17-38.
Collins, Lori D. and Travis F. Doering
2006
Integrated Spatial Technologies: High Definition Documentation of the
Miami and Royal Palm Circles. The Florida Anthropologist 59 (Special
Issue: The Miami Circle: Fieldwork, Research and Analysis II with
additional commentary by Robert Carr):161-177.
Cyphers, Ann
1993
From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo
Tenochtitlán. In Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica, edited by
Grove and Joyce, pp. 155-180. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and
Collection, Washington, DC.
Demarest, Arthur A.
2004
Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
Doering, Travis F.
n.d.
Early Formative Obsidian Artifacts from El Macayal, Veracruz, México.
Working paper, Alliance for Integrated Spatial Technologies, College of
Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
Doering, Travis F. and Lori D. Collins
n.d.
High Definition Archaeological Documentation and Survey: Applications
to Mesoamerica’s Formative Period Sculpture. In The Place of Sculpture
in Mesoamerica’s Preclassic Transition: Context, Use, and Meaning,
edited by Clark, Guernsey and Arroyo. vol. The 2007 Dumbarton Oaks
Pre-Columbian Symposium, Antigua, Guatemala, 5-6 October 2007.
Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.
Doering, Travis F., Lori D. Collins and Dan Perreault
2006
Guatemala Three-Dimensional Laser Scanning Project. Report
submitted to the New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham Young
University, Provo, Utah.
25
Flannery, Kent V.
1968
The Olmec and the Valley of Oaxaca: A Model for Inter-Regional
Interaction in Formative Times. In Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the
Olmec, edited by Benson, pp. 79-118. Dumbarton Oaks Research
Library and Collections, Washington, D.C.
Gamio, Manuel
1926
Cultural Evolution in Guatemala and Its Geographic and Historic
Handicaps. Art and Archaeology 22(6):203-222.
Graham, M. M.
1998
Mesoamerican Jade and Costa Rica. In Jade in Ancient Costa Rica,
edited by Jones, pp. 39-57. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Guernsey-Kappleman, Julia
2002
Carved in Stone: The Cosmological Narratives of Late Preclassic
Izapan-Style Monuments from the Pacific Slope. In Heart of Creation:
The Mesoamerican World and the Legacy of Linda Schele, edited by
Stone, pp. 66-82. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.
Guernsey, Julia
2006
Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in
Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Hatch, Marion Popenoe de
1997
Kaminaljuyú / San Jorge: Evidencia Arqueológica de la Actividad
Económica en el Valle de Guatemala. 300 a.C. a 300 d.C Fundación
para la Cultura y el Desarrollo, Guatemala City.
2001
Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala. In Archaeology of Ancient México and Central
America: An Encyclopedia, edited by Evans and Webster, pp. 387-390.
Garland, New York.
Hatch, Marion Popenoe de, Erick Ponciano, Tomás Barriento, Mark Brenner and
Charles Ortloff
2002
Climate and Technological Innovation at Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala.
Ancient Mesoamerica 13(1):103-114
Hoopes, John W.
1993
A View from the South: Prehistoric Exchange in Central America. In The
American Southwest and Mesoamerica: Systems of Prehistoric
Exchange, edited by Ericson and Baugh, pp. 247-274 Springer, New
York.
26
Houston, Stephen D.
2004
Writing in Early Mesoamerica. In The First Writing: Script Invention as
History and Process, edited by Houston, pp. 274-312. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
Houston, Stephen D., Zachary Nelson, Carlos Chiriboga, Carlos Alvarado,
Héctor Escobedo and Karl Taube
2005
Nuevas Perspectivas sobre la Acrópolis de Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala. In
XVIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2004,
edited by Laporte, Arroyo and Mejía, pp. 505-510. Ministerio de Cultura
y Deportes, IDAEH, Asociación Tikal, FAMSI., Guatemala City: .
Houston, Stephen D., Zachary Nelson, Carlos Chiriboga and Ellen Spensley
2003
The Acropolis of Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala: Recovering a Lost
Excavation. Mayab 16:49-64.
Jones, Julie
1998
Jade in Ancient Costa Rica. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Joyce, Rosemary A. and David C. Grove
1999
Asking New Questions about the Mesoamerican Pre-Classic In Social
Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica, edited by Grove and Joyce, pp. 114. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C.
Kaplan, Jonathan
1995a The Incienso Throne and other Thrones from Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala.
Ancient Mesoamerica 6:185-196.
1995b The Kaminaljuyú Miraflores II Ground-Penetrating Radar Subproject.
Report submitted to the Foundation for the Advancement of
Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.
Kidder, Alfred, Jesse Jennings and Edwin Shook
1946
Excavations at Kaminaljuyú. Publication 561. Carnegie Institution,
Washington, D.C.
Konica-Minolta
2007
VIVID 9i Three Dimensional Digitizer Technical Specifications. Noncontact 3D laser scanner. http://www.minolta3d.com/products/vi9ien.asp#specs.
Lesure, Richard G.
2004
Shared Art Styles and Long-Distance Contact in Early Mesoamerica. In
Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Hendon and Joyce, pp. 73-96.
Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology. Blackwell, Malden, MA.
27
Love, Michael W.
2002
Early Complex Society in Pacific Guatemala: Settlements and
Chronology of the Río Naranjo, Guatemala. Papers of the New World
Archaeological Foundation 67. Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
Michaels, Joseph
1979
Settlement Patterns Excavations at Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala.
Monograph Series of Kaminaljuyú. Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA.
Michels, Joseph W.
1979
The Kaminaljuyú Chiefdom. The Pennsylvania State University Press
Monograph Series on Kaminaljuyú. Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA.
Miller, M. E.
1996
The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec. Revised ed. Thames
and Hudson, New York.
Monterroso, Matilde Ivic de and Carlos Alvarado Galindo
2004
Kaminaljuyú: Informe de las Excavaciones Realizados en el Parque
Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala, pp. 335-339. Universidad Del Valle,
Guatemala.
Mora-Marín, David
2001
The Grammar, Orthography, Content, and Social Context of Late
Preclassic Mayan Portable Texts. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. University
at Albany, State University of New York.
Ohi, Kuniaki
1994
Kaminaljuyú (1991-1994). 2 volumes. Museum of Tobacco and Salt,
Tokyo.
Ortíz, Pociano and Maria Carmen Rodríguez
1990
Proyecto Manatí 1990: Informe Final de Campo. Instituto Nacional de
Antropología e Historia, Veracruz, México.
Ortíz, Ponciano, Maria Carmen Rodríguez, Paul Schmidt, Alfredo Delgado, Luis
Heredia and Lourdes Hernández
1988
Proyecto Manatí 1988. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Ortíz, Ponciano, Maria Carmen Rodríguez, Paul Schmidt, Alfredo Delgado, Luis
Heredia, Daniel Nahmad, Ignacio Montes, Jesús Ramirez, Cesar Correa, Julio
Chan, Lourdes Hernández, Eric Juarez, Jorge Bautista, Ricardo Herrera, J.
Manuel Hernandez, and Stephan A. Nelson
1989
Proyecto Manati 1989. Instituto de Antropología e Historia. México City
28
Parsons, Lee A.
1986
The Origins of Maya Art: Monumental Stone Sculpture of Kaminaljuyú ,
Guatemala, and the Southern Pacific Coast. Studies in Pre-Columbian
Art and Archaeology, Number 28. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library
and Collection, Washington, D.C.
1988
Proto-Maya Aspects of Miraflores-Arenal Monumental Stone Sculpture
from Kaminaljuyú and the Southern Pacific Coast. In Maya Iconography,
edited by Benson and Griffin, pp. 6-43. Princeton University Press,
Princeton, NJ.
Polanyi, Karl
1963
Ports of Trade in Early Societies. Journal of Economic History 23(1):3045.
Pool, Christopher A.
2007
Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge World
Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Price, Clifford A.
1996
Stone Conservation: An Overview of Current Research. Research in
Conservation. The Getty Conservation Institute, J. Paul Getty Trust.,
Santa Monica, CA.
Rapoport, Amos
1990
History and Precedent in Environmental Design. Springer-Verlag, New
York.
Rice, Prudence M.
2007
Maya Calendar Origins: Monuments, Mythistory, and the Materialization
of Time. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Rodríguez-Martínez, Maria del Carmen, Ponciano Ortíz Ceballos, Michael D.
Coe, Richard A. Diehl, Stephen D. Houston, Karl A. Taube and Alfredo Delgado
Calderón
2006
Oldest Writing in the New World. Science 313(5793):1610-1614.
Rosenswig, Robert M.
2000
Some Political Processes of Ranked Societies. Journal of
Anthropological Archaeology 19:413–460.
2006
Sedentism and Food Production in Early Complex Societies of the
Soconusco, México. World Archaeology 38(2):330-355
29
2007
Beyond Identifying Elites: Feasting as a Means to Understand Early
Middle Formative Society on the Pacific Coast of México. Journal of
Anthropological Archaeology 26(1):in press.
Sanders, William T.
1969
The Pennsylvania State University Kaminaljuyú Project, 1968 season,
Part 1 Occasional Papers in Anthropology 2. Department of
Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
Sanders, William T. and Joseph W. Michaels
1977
Teotihuacán and Kaminaljuyú. Pennsylvania State University Press,
College Park.
Saturno, William A., David Stuart and Boris Beltrán
2006
Early Maya Writing at San Bartolo, Guatemala. Science 311(5765):12811283.
Seitz, R., G. E. Harlow, V. B. Sisson and K. A. Taube
2001
Olmec Blue and Formative Jade Sources: New Discoveries in
Guatemala. Antiquity 75:687-688.
Sharer, Robert J.
1978
Prehistory of Chalchuapa, El Salvador. University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia.
Sheets, Payson D.
1975
A Reassessment of the Precolumbian Obsidian Industry of El Chayal,
Guatemala. American Antiquity 40(1):98-103.
Shook, Edwin M. and A. Ledyard Smith
1942
Guatemala: Kaminaljuyú. In Carnegie Institution of Washington
Yearbook 1941, pp. 263-267. Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Washington, DC.
Stanislawski, Dan
1996
The Spanish Province of San Salvador in the Mid-Sixteenth Century.
Geographical Review, Latin American Geography 86(3):408-413.
Taube, Karl A.
2004
Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and
Collection, Washington, D.C.
30
Valdés, Juan Antonio and Lori E. Wright
2004
The Early Classic and its Antecedents at Kaminaljuyú: A Complex
Society with Complex Problems. In Understanding Early Classic Copan,
edited by Bell, Canuto and Sharer, pp. 337-355. University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
White, Christine D., Michael W. Spence, Fred J. Longstaffe and Kimberley R.
Law
2000
Testing the Nature of Teotihuacán Imperialism at Kaminaljuyú Using
Phosphate Oxygen-Isotope Ratios Journal of Anthropological Research
56(4):535-558.
Zeitlin, Robert N.
1982
Toward a More Comprehensive Model of Interregional Commodity
Distribution: Political Variables and Prehistoric Obsidian Procurement in
Mesoamerica. American Antiquity 47:2760-275.
31